Ospreys close doors on Arena with win

Saturday, February 21

UNF Arena

4:15 p.m.

University of North Florida

-820, 612 ASun

Stetson

-1314, 99 ASun

Stetson

North Florida

Cortez Riley finished his final game at UNF Arena with 15 points.

2/21/2009 7:51:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

UNF closes out home slate with 78-66 victory

By: Shawn LaFata

Box Score

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The University of North Florida men's basketball team trailed only once in the early minutes of play in closing the home portion of its 2008-09 schedule with a 78-66 win against Stetson.

The victory gave the Ospreys (8-20, 6-12 A-Sun) their first three-game winning streak at the NCAA Division I level while also evening the team's record at .500 on its home floor and giving the team its first season sweep of an Atlantic Sun Conference opponent. UNF also defeated Stetson (13-14, 8-10 A-Sun) in DeLand, Fla., last month.

"I'm happy for our team and our seniors to get a win in front of this enthusiastic crowd," UNF head coach Matt Kilcullen said. "Our goal was to win our last three games at home. We played tremendous team defense tonight and it was an all-around team effort."

Four different Ospreys scored in double figures, while UNF's defense held the Hatters to 41.5 percent shooting from the field and blocked five shots on the evening.

Eni Cuka led the Osprey scoring effort, hitting a career-high five 3-pointers for the second game in a row and finishing the contest with 21 points. Cuka scored 15 points beyond the 3-point arc, while the other six came from the free throw line.

The Ospreys led by as many as 11 in the opening half before carrying a seven-point lead into the locker room and advancing that lead to as many as 17 in the second half of play.

Senior Cortez Rile helped the team's effort with 15 points while freshman Zack Riggins scored 12 and junior Stan Januska chipped in 11.

UNF opened the second half of play on a 12-5 run to reclaim a double-digit lead it held in the opening half. Cuka topped off that run with a 3-pointer that gave the Ospreys a 49-35 lead at the 11:58 mark of the half.

Garfield Blair – who scored a game-high 26 points – knocked down a pair of free throws at the 6:33 mark to pull Stetson within 10 points but that's all the closer the Hatters would get. UNF countered with a 9-2 run that Januska started with a 3-pointer and Riley finished off with a free throw to up the lead to 17 points, the Ospreys' biggest of the contest.

UNF's final 10 points came from the free throw line, where UNF shot 41 shots on the night, making 23 of them.

The Ospreys helped themselves by forcing 17 turnovers and dishing out 14 assists. Stetson won the battle of the boards 39-25 with Tim Lang and Sheldon Oliver finishing tied with nine rebounds. Riley led UNF with seven boards.

The first half started out slow with UNF holding a 2-0 lead after the first four minutes of play. Things quickly picked up after that, as Stetson took its first lead of the game at 3-2 before the Ospreys scored three points or more on seven of eight possessions, knocking down six of their first seven 3-pointers. Cuka highlighted that run that saw UNF grab a 26-15 lead with a four-point play.

The Ospreys tied a season high with nine 3-pointers on Saturday.

Both Cuka and Januska found themselves in foul trouble and on the bench in the final six minutes of the half, allowing Stetson to pull within five. Kyle Groothuis answered that run with a layup before the first half buzzer sounded, giving the Ospreys a 37-30 lead heading into the break. Cuka scored 10 points in the opening half to lead UNF, while Blair had 12.

Before the contest, the UNF basketball team honored seniors Riley and Ian Gibson for their four years of service on the Osprey basketball team as well as team manager Jason Bastian.

"I have had a great experience playing here," Riley said. "The guys told me before the game they were going to try to win it for me. I am honored to be a part of this program."

UNF will close out its 2008-09 season with a two-game road swing to Nashville next weekend, taking on Belmont Thursday night before traveling to Lipscomb on Saturday afternoon.